Server into, etc. Server into, etc.

Months ago I blogged on my travails in getting my various (four) computers up and operational together. I have been running a mail server for several months now, and it has worked out quite well. It actually is a bit faster in many cases, since when I am sending or checking mail, I only need to communicate with an adjacent computer, at 100 mbs. And I was able to add SMTP headers to my outgoing mail that included confidentiality information.

I still use my ISP as backup for my email. I do this by having two DNS MX records for my domains. The lower priority MX record points at my ISP's email server, and the higher priority MX record points at my dedicated IP address. So, whenever anyone tries to email me, they first try my dedicated IP address, and if that fails, send to my ISP's email server.

I do something similar on the outgoing side. My default SMTP server for outgoing email is my own server, but I use my two ISPs as backup. Thus, when my server is down, my email still goes out - though this really doesn't make sense, since when it is down, I just switch my KVM switch to that machine and reboot, since all the local computers use the same Keyboard, Video monitor, and Mouse.